All-Star Jam. It’s like the bathroom down the hall. Here when you need it.
Jan 292007
Jan 292007
Submitted by Townsman Rick Massimo.
I reckon we’ve all had bands that we realized we were wrong about – that we underestimated at first but realized the greatness of later. But how about individual players?
In my late teens, I confess, I was one of those who looked down on John Bonham as a ham-fisted pounder. It was in my early 20s that I realized what a sexy beast his playing is. It took a lot longer – until my early 30s, I think – to realize what a monster Mick Fleetwood actually is. (Hearing “Hold Me” on Saturday, and realizing what a jam that is, brought the question to mind.)
Any other examples? I realize the above are both drummers, but they don’t have to be. And what does it say about me that they both are?
Jan 282007
Contributed by Townsman Rick Massimo.
Everyone has certain forms of music they prefer to others. This is subjective. The impulse to try to describe one’s favorite music as objectively superior to others is what is commonly meant by rockism, a term that had a brief fling in professional and amateur music-critical circles a couple of years ago. See Kelefa Sanneh‘s seminal piece in the Sunday New York Times.
The strict-constructionist definition of rockism is an exaltation of the mythology of ’60s and early ’70s rock – teenage boys with guitars working out their feelings on paper in the afternoon and shouting them through microphones at night. (The loose-constructionist definition calls rockism an exaltation of any form of music on pseudo-objective grounds.) Rockism usually includes a derisive sneer toward some other form of music, usually whatever is currently popular on the charts.
Continue reading »
Jan 282007
The Modfather to revisit his back catalog on US soil. Would you be most likely to save your bathroom break for the second or third night?
NEW YORK (Billboard) – Most people reach a point in their career where they just need a clean break, a chance to try something new and spread their wings. That’s exactly where Paul Weller was in 1982, when he shut the door on the Jam, a U.K. phenomenon that was finally making inroads in the States with the single “Town Called Malice.”
Twenty-five years later, Weller is returning to the Jam canon for two immediately sold-out stands in New York and Los Angeles that mark the 30th anniversary of the Jam’s debut album, “In the City.” In both cities, he is playing three shows. On the first night, he’s playing an entire Jam set, with the second dedicated to his post-Jam act the Style Council and the third to his solo catalogue.
Jan 272007
Seger! Our patron saint of Classic Rock mediocrity keeps on keepin’ on! Jon Pareles writes about him in the most rockist terms imaginable. This is a fascinating, if hackneyed, piece of rock journalism!
Emphases courtesy of Rock Town Hall. Craig Frost fans take note! Thanks to Townsman BigSteve.
From The New York Times, by Jon Pareles
Bob Seger: A Rocker Who’s Come to Terms With Time
Bob Seger is 61, with gray hair and glasses. But he still goes to work in a T-shirt and bluejeans.
Continue reading »
Jan 272007
So as some of you already know, I have a compulsive thrift store music habit – essentially a poverty-friendly form of retail therapy that I strongly recommend to folks who are addicted to buying music but who can’t see their way clear to dropping $13 on every crazy music purchase they make.
I’ll get into the specific reasons why thrift store music kicks so much major ass in a different post. For now, I want to share a jaw-dropping discovery I made today in a Salvation Army store: the Most Amazing Liner Notes In the History Of Recorded Music.
Continue reading »
Jan 272007
All-Star Jam. Have mercy.
